Simon Hartley

Cadbury Confectionery says it is not contemplating a restructuring of its Dunedin plant, rejecting recent speculation about the company's future in the city.

Sixty southern business people attended day two of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade roadshow visiting Dunedin to outline trading opportunities with China, which included case studies from Dunedin companies.

Consumers will be bearing the brunt of the weakening of the New Zealand dollar - down 3c during the past fortnight against the US greenback - with increasing pressure on retail costs of imported goods and fuel.

Rural service company PGG Wrightson's shares have enjoyed a stellar run of almost three months on the back of positive agricultural news, largely from the dairy sector.

Live tattooing displays at Dunedin's inaugural Tattoo Nations Expo during the weekend appear to have been limited due to a lack of registered tattooists.

Boutique Dunedin Green Man Brewery has sent its inaugural export order - 120 dozen of mixed organic beers - to Australia, with the likelihood of monthly orders to follow.

Pike River Coal has displaced Hellaby Holdings on the New Zealand stock exchange's SE50 index of top companies.

Tourism group Skyline Enterprises has booked a record $21.7 million before-tax profit - for the second consecutive year up 16% - but cautioned it was battling increasing costs in all sectors.

New Zealand export stocks rallied yesterday on the back of a US1c fall against the New Zealand dollar following the Reserve Bank holding its official cash rate (OCR) at 8.25% but painting a gloomy picture of the economy.

Dunedin is hosting a two-day workshop for businesses interested in developing trade links with China, which includes a workshop with New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) lead negotiator David Walker.

West Coast hard coking coal specialist Pike River Coal has secured a $US300 ($NZ382) per tonne contract with its Indian shareholder partners and Japanese steel mills for its inaugural production - a rate more than triple the international $US98 benchmark coal price a year ago.

Toronto-listed Dunedin-based gold explorer Underworld Resources is halfway through a 12-hole test-drilling programme at its Golden Progress prospect near Oturehua in Central Otago.

Dunedin GPS tracking company TracPlus Global has beaten entrants from 15 countries to win a UK-based international business competition - which includes establishing a beachhead European office in Wales - plus a $NZ120,000 business support package prize.

A challenge to prevent the Dunedin City Council resource consent hearing committee's consideration of an $11 million retail application was unsuccessful yesterday.

The mid-year oral presentation awards for Otago's 2008 Young Enterprise Scheme produced some of the best presentations and ideas seen in the decades-old competition, organisers said.

Mortgage rates are on the move again - vaporising any future tax gains announced in the budget last week - and ratcheting up the compounding cost pressures faced by New Zealand households.